Sports

Korah senior girls start OFSAA with victory

The Korah Colts senior girls basketball team cruised to an easy victory Thursday in their first game at the all-Ontario high school championships in Brockville.

The Colts - who were city champions this year - went into the AA Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations tournament ranked No. 3 out of 18 teams. And they ran over Forrest Hill's Bishop Strachan (18th seed) by more than 30 points, 68-37.

Korah took a 35-point lead into the locker room after the first half.

"Everybody contributed in that first half. It was kind of nice," said head coach Gary Cormier. "We played well. It was 47-12 at the half."

Abi Fogg led the team with 23 points while Riley Hogan added 12. The Colts took most of their starters out to begin the second half, but they returned later in the game, Cormier said.

Starting the three-day tournament with a victory is a bonus for the girls, Cormier said.

"Anytime you come down and have the first half that we had, it definitely gives our kids confidence. It's always big, you always want to start out on a good note . I think the girls understand what happened, they know what they've got to do next. It definitely was a big win."

The Colts were scheduled to take the hardwood this morning against Toronto's Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute (14th seed), which lost its opening game Thursday to Sudbury's Lasalle Secondary School 55-45.

Vaughan Road is a quick team that is "very, very aggressive," Cormier said.

"So we've got to make sure we stay composed."

If the Colts win this morning they will advance to the quarter-final round Friday at 5 p.m.

If they make it through the quarter-finals they will move on to the semifinals, which are slated for Saturday morning.

The gold-medal game goes at 8 p.m. Saturday. The bronze medal contest begins at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, the St. Basil Saints senior girls dropped both both games Thursday on the first-day of the AAA OFSAA championships in Kingston.

The 15th seeded Saints lost 40-46 in the early game to Brampton' North Park Secondary School. The Saints managed just 19 points in the first half of the contest, but stormed back in the second half to drain 31 points.

"The girls were nervous in the first half. They settle down in the second half," said head coach Jim Pedatella.

"We had a good talk at half time and the girls responded well. We just ran out of time," he said.

Courtney White put up 14 points for the Saints, while and Rhaelyn Gillespie added seven.

The second game on Thursday night didn't go the Saints' way either.

They lost 48-19 to the No. 2 seed at the tournament, A.N. Myer, from Niagara Falls.

"The second game was a disaster. The girls didn't play to their potential. They were very frustrated."

Carley Bordin and Kristi McPhail each put up five for the Saints in the second game.

St. Basil was to square off this morning against Louis Reil, who are the defending AAA OFSAA champions.

If the Saints win they will advance to the quarter-finals later today. If they lose they are eliminated.

Pedatella hopes his girls can get back on track this morning.

"The girls have never been to a tournament and played three bad games. They have got to turn it around. We're so much better than this," Pedatella said.